Akiko’s Blog No. 14 “LGBTI”

30 May 2017

　Now, we are having a beautiful season with fresh green sprouting everywhere. Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), visited Japan from 10 to 13 May.  His visit was made very fruitful, thanks to help from so many people in various forms. For that, we’d like to thank you.

　Now, we’ll discuss eliminating discrimination against LGBT people at workplace, since 17 May was the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (international day for the elimination of LGBTI (Reference 1) discrimination). Incidentally, do refer to “LGBTI no koyo to rodo ni kansuru ILO no seisaku (ILO’s policies on employment and labour of LGBTI workers)” by Aiko Kimura, President of The Japan Association for Advancement of ILO, published in the first issue (2017) of “Work & Life”, if you are interested in this topic.

　The ILO adopted two conventions to promote gender equality in the 1950s: Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100) and Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111). Both of them are included in the eight ILO Fundamental Conventions. Discrimination on the basis of sex, at the time of Convention No. 111, was about biological sex, and did not include sexual orientation.

Trade unions started working on eliminating LGBTI discrimination in the 1980s, however. A world convention on Trade Unions, Homosexuality and Work was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1998, with assistance of trade unions from the UK, Germany and Italy.

The ILO member states saw greater momentum to legislate laws and ordinances to ban discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation from around 1990. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations outlined trends in some nations, and referred to the possibility of interpreting the gender discrimination provision of No. 111 to include sexual orientation, in its report on Special Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation in respect of Convention No. 111, submitted to the 83th Session of the International Labour Conference in 1996.

　The ILO examines new types of discriminations, not limited to biological sex, in its discussion of sex discrimination covered by the convention No. 111, both in Global Reports, under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, published in 2003 and 2007, as well as the resolution of 2009 International Labour Conference (ILC) titled “Gender equality at the heart of decent work”.

　The ILO has also conducted survey and research on discrimination against LGBTI workers around the world since 2012, with the support of the Government of Norway; it has implemented PRIDE project to collect successful examples of inclusion, publishing reports on several countries.

　In addition to these efforts, the ILO started issuing the Director-General statement annually on the occasion of the world LGBTI day since 2013. Director-General Guy Ryder said in his statement this year that we should not leave LGBTI people behind, in the spirit of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, calling for solidarity with LGBTI workers and their families, in alignment with the international day’s theme this year, “Love Makes a Family”.

　As for whether LGBTI people are able to enjoy their rights at work and to balance work and family responsibilities, he says, “The ILO’s own research finds that workplace policies, often designed from a hetero-normative perspective, may fall short of addressing the issues and concern of LGBT workers”. They are often excluded from benefits and entitlements such as parental leave. They may not be able to make use of social protection even when it is available, especially in early stages of their career, out of fear of discrimination and disclosure, as many of them tend to hide their sexual orientation and gender identity.

　Many place themselves in the informal employment, thus making themselves more vulnerable to exploitation, facing the reality of anxiety, rejection and hostile work environments. Transgender people still struggle to make a living; some end up in the sex industry, and are exposed to further marginalization and risk of infection with HIV and other diseases. Even their family members including children may be negatively affected if LGBTI workers do not receive equal opportunities and treatment at work.

　Director-General called on us to stand, hand in hand, for the rights of LGBTI workers and their families, on the international day.

　Japan has not legislated anti-LGBTI discrimination law yet, but has begun some projects, including educational leaflets for business owners that refer to the matter. “Future of Work: 2035 - For Everyone to Shine” published in last August proposed that we should build a society and social frameworks where facts of gender, race, nationality, age, LGBT, disabilities and so on never pose a barrier to work and living. Companies, trade unions and the general public are required to make efforts to correctly understand this issue and to work towards creating a society that allows diversity.